an ongoing conversation place for everything real estate

The higher your credit score the better chance you have of getting a loan or credit card.  Higher credit scores even help with better interest rates on car loans and mortgages!

RISMedia.com recently published this informative article called 5 Tips to Raise Your Credit Score. We thought this information about credit was good to share.

1. Check Your Credit Report for Accuracy. You can receive a free credit report annually at annualcreditreport.com.  It’s a good idea to know your credit score before you apply for major credit.  You can also check your report for any errors.
2. Dispute Errors. If you report an error, the credit bureaus are required to investigate it and respond to you.  If there is an error make sure to report it.
3. Pay Your Bills on Time. Payment history makes up more than one-third of the typical credit score determination.
4. Pay Down Your Debts. Lenders look at how much available credit you have on cards, if you are maxed out, lenders may not loan you money.
5. Keep Credit Cards and Other Revolving Accounts Open. You may be tempted to close old accounts or accounts you are not using but this may actually hurt your credit score.

If you’d like to read the article in its entirety, you can click and view the 5 Tips to Raise Your Credit Score.

Uncertainty as to whether prices will continue to fall has to be one of the most common causes of buyer procrastination.  Paying too much wouldn’t be a smart thing but price isn’t the only factor to consider.  Interest rates have as much effect on housing costs as price.

A small increase in mortgage interest rates can offset a significant drop in home prices.  If the price of the home were to come down by 5% but the interest rates were to go up by .5%, the payments might be close to the same.

In the example below, if the price of $175,000 home went down 5% but the interest rate went from 4.75% to 5.25%, the payments would actually be $4.98 more at the cheaper price.  If while the buyer was waiting for the home to decrease 5% and the interest rate increased by 1%, the payments would actually go up by $55.30.

Then, of course, there is always the possibility that the price of the home doesn’t go down but the rate does go up by 1%.  The payments would be $104.58 more per month, each and every month for as long as you have the mortgage on the home.

The Omaha Area Housing Market is strong compared to the rest of the nation.  As a Residential Finance Consultant, I can provide solid information that will help you make better buying decisions.  A home is a place to feel safe and secure, to raise your family, share with your friends and an investment.  It’s an investment in your marriage, your family and your future.  You owe it to yourself to check out the real numbers in your market because every market is different.  Give me a call, I can help!!!

1. Interest rates are at an all time low. Combine this with lower than normal housing prices and you might find that buying is cheaper than renting.

2. There is a large number of inventory currently for sale so you have your pick from lots of homes. And since cooler weather is upon us you have virtually eliminated the competition as the majority of people do not want to move in the winter.

3.  Better negotiating power. There are a lot of extremely motivated home owners who are in financial predicaments whether they have lost their job or are looking to downsize to cut their expenses. Most sellers will go above & beyond to work with you on the purchase of their home whether it’s paying a portion of your closing costs or offering a home warranty.

4. Seeing a home decorated for the holidays might help you decide it’s “the one”. If you can picture yourself spending holidays in the home chances are you are going to love it for years to come. What better gift can you give yourself than a new home for the holidays?!

5. People typically get more time off work during the months of November & December. You can use this time to look at homes or even to move. And, you can recruit your family to help.

If you have questions about buying or selling a home or about the Omaha housing market please give me a call. I would love to help you find “the one”!

(402) 578-6223 (c)     Megan.Dreesen@cbshome.com (e)

Is the local economy and housing market showing improvements?   According to the national Association of Realtors’ latest survey, the answer is: a tepid yes.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, “A housing recovery is taking place, but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium.      But the overall direction should be a gradual rising trend in home sales with buyers responding to historically low mortgage interest rates and very favorable affordability conditions.”

The two main reasons are historically low interest rates and home prices.  According to NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, “Home prices are running about 22 percent less than five years ago when they were bid up by the biggest housing rush on record.”

The combination of low rates with low prices means more affordable housing, with many areas seeing monthly mortgage payments less than monthly rent.

Unfortunately, consumer confidence is still low.  Lynn Franco, of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, says “Consumer confidence, while slightly improved from September levels, is still hovering at historically low levels.  Consumers’ assessment of the current state of the economy is relatively unchanged, primarily because labor market conditions have yet to significantly improve.”

Sourced from Carla Hill, Realty Times

THIS MIGHT BE THE VERY BEST TIME TO BUY OR SELL REAL ESTATE PROPERTY IN HISTORY!!

Why?

Significant government stimulus practices will be running out soon and could negatively affect interest rates, so time is quickly running out to get into the game!

By now you have heard the $8000 First Time Home Buyer and the $6500 Existing Home Owner Tax Credit incentives are scheduled to expire April 30, 2010. It is unlikely they will be extended again. Interest rates remain at record lows right now.

However, you may not have heard the Fed is concluding its program of purchasing mortgage-backed securities by the end of March, 2010. This less advertised “stimulus program” has effectively kept mortgage interest rates at record lows. But chances are, when this government stimulus program stops, interest rates could and probably will increase.  It is unclear right now how fast or how much rates will increase.

So if you are in the market for a new home, or want to move up, down, or out. . . give your friendly real estate agent a call. . . .  DON’T WAIT ANY LONGER. . .DO IT NOW!